Welcome to Mainframe
by SpelCastrMax
Summary: Before Bob was a Guardian, he was a cadet trying to prove to his superiors that he was the one to help Mainframe and it's citzens after the destruction of the twin city.
1. First Visit (In Which Bob Meets New Frie...

Welcome to Mainframe by SpelCastrMax  
  
Author's Note: This is my take on what happened after Bob and Dot first met. If you haven't seen that scene, you probably won't understand the first chapter of this fic. Just bear with me though. For those of you who did see it, admit it, Mainframe Co. left us wanting to see more of that introduction. Since they do not provide it, I wrote my own. I don't own any of these characters, it's just fun to write fics. This one was started in my psychology class my senior year, which would explain why it's so long. I had some time to kill. Tee hee hee. Also, if you can guess what game they're in during the first chapter I'll give you a pat on the back and a cookie.  
  
  
Chapter 1: First Visit (In Which Bob Meets New Friends & Enemies)  
Bob wasn't sure what to do. He had come to find Killabyte in his new form, but for some reason he just wanted to stand there and reassure the girl who cried on his chest. Only he didn't know how to do that and his feelings of protection turned to embarrassment. It wasn't truly his fault, but what explanation could he give her? He had already lied to her once. "Guardian Bob," he thought to himself, "It's a little early to be putting that on your return address so why did you tell her that?"  
"Bob, are you alright? he heard Turbo's voice ask a second time. Bob faced him and several guardians stepped out of a portal from the Super Computer.  
Somehow, in all the confusion, he managed to say "I'm fine, Turbo," as the green teenaged sprite lifted her head and stepped away.  
The Prime Guardian approached her. "Excuse me, Ma'am. We would like to see your Command.Com." His Southern charm didn't effect the girl.  
She hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath. "Yes, of course. Follow me." She took the nearby toddler into her arms as he sniffled loudly. They climbed into her car where a red puppy waited in the backseat. She began to drive away from the rubble the other sprites searched through for a scrap of their city. Bob threw down his zipboard and kept up with the little car, taking no notice of the fact that he was riding ahead of Turbo.  
The Principal Office was a large sphere in the center of the city. Inside, everything was smooth and gray. Rolling through a set of doors was an old sprite with a long neck and twisted beard. He saw the girl and said, "My child, what was the damage?"  
She stared at the ground. "It was horrible, Phong." Looking up at him again, she took on a very business-like air and added, "These sprites are hear to talk to you and the Command.Com."  
Turbo began to address the sprite, whom he assumed was the secretary or some other high ranking position. Meanwhile, Bob was feeling like an idiot silently watching the young woman and her little brother as everything that had happened seemed to register once more.  
Just then, a female voice and a loud ringing echoed from outside as the sky turned dark. "Warning, incoming game. Warning..."  
The little sprite began to cry. "No Sis, don't leave me."  
"I have to go, Enzo. We can't loose this game," she told him sympathetically.  
Enzo frowned, "Then can I come? I've never been in a game. Huh, huh! Can I?"  
The game cube was urging the Guardians and cadets foreword, however they fought the instinct so as to wait for Turbo's orders. All of them, except Bob who headed outside and caught the game before it landed.  
The game's landscape was humid and green. Everything was in 8 bit color and all of the trees looked like a stacks of blocks. A brown hill with a black hole in the side sat in a pathectic end of the meadow alone. The sky overhead was a boring blue.  
"Wow!" a voice said from behind Bob, "This game must be really really really really really really really..."  
"Enzo!" a female voice scolded.  
"Really old," he finished.  
Bob turned and saw the green siblings standing there with their red puppy growling at him. "What?!" he nearly shouted, "Why are you hear?"  
The young woman stepped in front of her little brother and pointedly said, "Well, somebody has to win the game."  
Bob sighed, "Okay, fine." Turning to the keytool on his arm, he requested, "Glitch, game stats." The object beeped a little and he read aloud. "This is the final level of a game called Count's Crusade. The User has to find the count's treasure in order to win. This should be easy enough."  
Enzo excitedly jumped up and down. Judging by the scowl on his sister's face, Bob realized that the little boy wasn't supposed to be there. The guardian waited a moment longer as the two sprites stared back at him. "Well, let's reboot," he impatiently ordered.  
"What's reboot?" the teenaged girl questioned.  
Bob choked, "You don't know what rebooting is?! How do you win games?"  
She reached behind her and took out an erase command. With a smirk, she told him, "I delete the User."  
As Bob marveled over where she was keeping that command in her dangerously tight pink dress, Enzo added, "Erasing doesn't always work." His sister glared at him.  
"Oh boy," Bob commented as he slapped his hand against his face, "Okay, double click your icon and say 'Reboot'. Watch me." He demonstrated and tube of light fell over him. The blue cadet uniform was replaced by a brown tunic and pants. A sword hung at his side.  
Shrugging her shoulders the girl did the same. A peasant's dress with a red bodice appeared. Her multicolored hair was crowned by a flower wreath. She helped her brother with his icon and his "I am 00" shirt changed to a blue tunic. "Alphanumeric!" he exclaimed. The puppy became a baby dragon who had decided he didn't like Bob and spit a flame at him.  
Suddenly, a block character came out from behind a tree, heading for the nearest cave. His costume was similar to Bob's only he wore a feathered cap.  
Glancing at Glitch, the Cadet told them, "The treasures are in that cave." The group ran into the darkness after the 8 bit character. He was only a little ways ahead of them since he couldn't move very fast. "I'll distract the User..."  
"And we'll get the treasure," the girl finished for him with a little smile, "C'mon Little Brother." The two and their dog ran past the User towards a lighted cavern.  
The User didn't notice because of Bob drawing his jagged sword and shouting, "Alright User, bring it on." The User drew his own sword and ran at Bob. His pace was faster than the Guardian to be had anticipated. "Yikes," he said as the two gray rectangles met. The battle turned out to be less of a challenge as it progressed since Bob had more movement than the 1-D character. Eventually, he ran the User face first into a wall. The silly character continued to walk at the wall for a while. It took him so long to turn back around, that Bob grew bored and went to help his new companions. He shouted at the User, "Better luck next time."  
The chamber was very dull. Nothing but a steep staircase that winded up to a shelf where the treasure chest sat. Hanging from the edge of the staircase about a story up was the green girl. Her feet were lost in the petticoats of her dress.  
"What are you doing?" Bob asked staring up at her.  
She glowered at him. "These stairs are hard to climb in skirts," she explained as she pulled herself back up. Without another word, she and her brother walked up the rest of the steps and took the chest. The words "Game over" surrounded them and the game cube disappeared back into the sky.  
Enzo jumped up. "Wow! That was fun. Can we do it again? Huh? Huh? Huh?"  
"Enzo!" the girl snapped. The little sprite settled down as he noticed the fact that his sister had fallen onto the payment when the game ended. Bob leaned over to help her up. "Thank you...I'm sorry, I can't remember your name."  
"Bob or 452 to my superiors." It would have been the perfect opportunity to tell her that he was only a cadet, but he chose not to. It wasn't like he would be seeing this girl every second for the rest of his life.  
"Dot Matrix," she told extending a hand to shake, "And this is my little brother..." She motioned to only find the sprite was gone. "Enzo?"  
A deep British voice came from around a corner. "Listen to me, boy, you will take me to whomever is in charge here..."  
Bob and Dot edged over, peaking out to see the owner of the menacing words. There stood a dark blue creaure holding up Enzo by his shirt and towering over any binomes who had run for cover. "A virus?" Dot whispered, "It can't be."  
"I'm surprised you even know what a virus is," Bob scoffed.  
She lightly punched him and defensively replied, "I'm not completely basic. It's just...there aren't any viruses in Mainframe."  
Instead of saying anything more to the girl, Bob whispered, "Glitch, Energy Coils." He pointd the keytool around the corner and a rope flew from Glitch. It wrapped around the virus. He dropped Enzo, who ran to his sister's arms, only to turn around and stick out his tongue at his former captor.  
Bob talked into Glitch. "Turbo, I found something. Code 43. I'm not that far from the Principal Office."  
Turbo's voice replied, "Alright Bob, Carden and Zero will be right there."  
"Are you going to delete me, Guaridan?" the virus said with a laugh.  
Bob responded as he looked up from Glitch. "I don't believe in deletion."  
"Pity. I do," the virus growled, "I am Megabyte, Corrupt and Conquer. Who is in charge here?"  
There was silence for a moment before Dot stepped forward. "I guess I am." Her voice was strong and clear.  
"You?" As Megabyte spoke, they could see the rows of shiny tin teeth inside of his square head. He chuckled with sarcasm, "This must be a great system to have a little girl in charge."  
Dot glared deeply at the virus, looking ready to wrap her hands around his thick metal neck and squeeze. Luckily, Carden and Zero arrived.  
"Thank you, miss," Carden said to Dot, "No more need to fear. You can go home now. I'm sure that this has been a very emotional day for you and..."  
"Do they train you guys to be so egotistical?" This made the cadet pause. She contiued in a firm voice that startled all three young male sprites. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on."  
Enzo spoke up with a tremor in his tone. "Sis."  
"Not now, Enzo," she replied without breaking eye contact with Carden. She wasn't ready to give up the challenge.  
"But Dot..." he wined.  
"I said not..." she turned and realized what he was upset about. The virus had escaped.  
"Hey," Carden complained in a long drawn out moan that discredited his earlier Dudley Doright act.  
"Cursors!" Zero swore.  
"Oh great," Bob groaned as they heard Megabyte's distant laughter, "Well, Ms. Matrix. It's official. Mainframe has it's very own virus."  
"Make that two viruses," Carden put in, "A chaotic calling herself Hexadecimal has been terrorizing the sprites surveying the damage site. Turbo sent a team to check it out."  
Dot let out an exhausted sigh, "I can't believe this is happening. Enzo go back to the Principal Office and wait for me."  
"Dot..."  
"Take Frisket with you and don't stop to talk to anyone," she commanded, playing with the propeller his beanie. "I need you to tell Phong about what happened here. This is a very important mission, understand?"  
"Yes ma'am," he replied and ran off with the puppy close behind.  
*************  
After Bob and the others spent nanos searching for Megabyte, they all headed back to the Principal Office where Phong and Turbo were still talking in the old sprite's wood paneled office.  
"Be assured that we will do all possible to help your system get back on it's feet," the Prime Guardian said with confidence.  
Phong only nodded and bid a farewell as Turbo opened a portal to the Super Computer. The cadets and Guardians followed him towards it. Only Bob paused to glance back at the two Matrix kids. Enzo had fallen asleep on a short couch under a picture of a green sprite with the black hair. Dot removed her glasses and stared at the picture. Bob had heard a little of their father from eavesdropping on Turdbo's conversation with Phong. Welman Matrix was a great scientist working with portals with the constant belief that there were other systems. His children had been by his side with every new idea. Dot wiped a tear from her eye, thinking no one was watching, and removed the picture from the wall. "Good bye, Dad."  
Bob ran to Turbo. "Wait. I need to stay." His peers stared at him like he was holding a magnet up to his head. "I mean...request permission to stay."  
Turbo shook his head. "I know you're upset about Dixon, Bob, but you can't sol..."  
"Please sir," Bob cut in, "This system doesn't know what to do about games and viruses."  
The Prime Guaridan peered at little Enzo Matrix who blinked out of his sleep with curious eyes. With a sigh, Turbo said, "Zero, you stay in Mainframe until further orders."  
Neither Zero nor Bob looked very happy. "But sir..." they both called.  
Turbo continued, "I will see you in my office first thing, Cadet 452." Reluctantly, Bob nodded and watched his superiors and peers step through the portal. Zero grumbling went to talk to Phong about sleeping arrangements.  
As Bob headed for the portal, Enzo jumped up and grabbed his blue hand. "You're leaving?" he asked in a sad little voice.  
Dot stepped over as well with the purpose to put her brother back to bed. However, the question interested her and she stared at Bob. Cadet 452 released a deep breath. "I have to go, but I'll be back." Dot seemed doubtful and he directed his next words at her. "I promise."  
_________________  
Stay Tuned For Next Week's Tale of Early Mainframe. Will Bob be able to come back to Mainframe? Will Dot learn to trust him? Will Mike the TV ever make an appearance in this pathetic excuse of fan fic? Well...how the heck should I know? 


	2. Second Visit (In Which Bob Is Formally I...

Welcome to Mainframe by SpelCastrMax  
  
Author's Note: Got ya! There is no author's note! Ha!  
  
LAST WEEK ON REBOOT: A young Cadet known as Bob arrived in a small system where disaster had struck. In this city, Mainframe, the sprite meets a brother and sister who rise above the recent tragedy to win a game. Along with this interesting pair and their overprotective puppy, Bob crosses paths with a imposing British virus who calls himself Megabyte. Despite his request to stay and help Mainframe, Bob's classmate Zero is posted there instead. And now, on with the show...  
  
  
Chapter 2: Second Visit (In Which Bob Is Formally Introduced To Hex)  
"Of all the basic, no good..." Bob sat in his dorm grumbling, "They actually think Zero is qualified for this sort of thing! I can't believe Turbo turned me down."  
"Get over it," Carden told him, "You're a cadet with weird ideas. You might as well ask the User why games. Why not just let odd looking killer bugs loose in the system." He thought about what he had said, "Never mind, we already have those."  
Bob growled and decided to ignore his play by rules roomy.  
Carden started to chuckle as he set the vid window alarm clock.  
"What?" 452 asked as he closed the read me file he'd been pretending to study.  
"You," his roommate replied, still laughing under his breath, "'I need to stay'. Oh brother!"  
"Carden, those people need help," Bob defensively responded, "You know they've been using an ancient erase command to win games."  
"And the fact that one of Mainframe's chief citizens is a babe has nothing to do with it?" he asked suspiciously.  
Bob tried not to smile. "C'mon, she's not even my type."  
"Then why didn't you tell her the truth. You're not a Guardain, not until you pass your finals." Bob didn't reply. Carden went on, "Don't get me wrong. I would have lied too." He picked up a rubber ball off the desk and tossed it directly at Bob. "To sum up what I'm trying to tell you I repeat my earlier phrase." He stood up and firmly stated with a teasing expression, "Get over it. She probably wouldn't date you anyway."  
Bob threw the ball back at his roommate with another growl. Carden just let out another laugh.  
*************  
The cadets all hung out in a nearby bar where they'd fill up on energy shakes while they studied game techniques and the best ways to approach a tear.  
Bob entered carrying an envelope he'd picked up from his mailbox before heading to the bar. He sat down with a group of sprites who greeted him cheerfully.  
"What's that?" Molly, who was youngest of the group, questioned.  
He overlooked the envelope. "Don't know." He opened it and a hologram of little Enzo appeared.  
The young sprite spoke in tone that sounded rehearsed. "Dear Mr. Bob. This is Enzo Matrix." He paused when a bark sounded from the background. "And Frisket. We were just wondering when you were coming back. This other guy is a real..." His voice lowered to a whisper, "Dipswitch." He went back to his normal volume. "Dot can't stand him. He won't even let her go into games. I know you'd be a better Guardian. I'm going to be 01 soon, you could come for my birthday." He paused and with a little gasp he finished quickly. "Uh oh, Zero's coming. Bye Bob."  
The message closed and Bob couldn't help smiling. His friends had all been taking his "obsession" with Mainframe as a joke, but for once they didn't tease or snicker. Carden gave him a pat on the back and they all went back to studying.  
The blue cadet stared down at his keytool and wondered about what Dixon would have said if she were there. "What am I saying?" Bob thought, "I know exactly what she would've said. 'Listen cadet, you better use your energy for finals because there is no way Turbo would send you to Mainframe. By the way, I agree with Carden. If she's smart she won't date you. Now get to work before all the stuff you do know leaks out of that hole in your head.'" Although he considered Dixon his friend, she had never been one for inspiring confidence.  
A click from Glitch brought Bob out of his thought and he realized that Molly was waving an energy shake in front of his face. "This goes in your mouth, Bob," she said with a laugh, "Just thought I'd let you know."  
*************  
Finals were approaching swiftly. With them was Bob's hope that if he scored high enough the Guardians would rethink their decision about him and Mainframe. They knew he was in steady contact with Enzo, who constantly wrote about how Dot was going to delete Zero next chance she had. Zero never did much in the system and binomes were being infected by Megabyte by the dozen. Most of the data sprites who had survived the accident had left the city to find out what was in these other systems they were suddenly hearing about.  
Bob couldn't concentrate the closer time came to his test. He sat in a scanner room, trying to keep his eyes on the nearby readme file. Suddenly, Glitch began chattering as Zero entered the room out of breath.  
"Mainframe really drains the energy," he complained sitting down across from Bob, "Especially that Matrix kid. He never shuts that input of his. And his sister is worse. I swear she has a hand in everything in that city. You have no idea how lucky you are, Bob."  
Bob tried to restrain his brown eyes from glaring at Zero. The two had compiled up across the street from each other, so their "friendly" rivalry was nothing new. "You just love that you got the post I want."  
Zero rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic, you know that 452. You're just upset that you can't go to Mainframe and check up on all your new buddies."  
"Who says I can't go there?" Bob questioned leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.  
"It's a rule," Zero argued, "No cadet can leave the Academy grounds this close to finals...unless they have permission from Turbo." A vid window announcement interrupted him to report another problem in Mainframe that needed Zero's attention. "Oh, the kid probably swallowed a magnet or something," the cadet grumbled and glanced at Bob, "You like them, right? Why don't you go?"  
"Oh yeah, I go and you tell Turbo," Bob scoffed.  
Zero rolled his again. "I'm serious. I really don't want to go and if I told Turbo that he'd kick my ASCII." A portal to Mainframe opened and Bob stood in front of it suspiciously. Before he could answer, Zero had pushed him through.  
Bob frowned at the way he had just come and almost thought about jumping through again to push Zero back. His final decision was "as long as I'm in Mainframe..." He was in the Principal Office. It was amazing the differences between this place and the Super Computer. It was so much slower and laid back. Even if he ever did manage to have a post in Mainframe, he didn't think he could ever call it home.  
An excited voice shouted, "Bob!" The cadet turned just as a young green sprite bowled him over. Enzo sat on his chest and began to rattle on a mile a minute. "Hey Bob, you came back just like you promised! Are you our new Guardian? No more Zero! Wait until Dot hears. She's sick of all the useless busy work he's been giving her. It makes her swear a lot, which she thinks I don't hear. You know she didn't believe you'd come back." He took a deep breath and called over he shoulder, "Dot!"  
Bob tried to sit up, only the little sprite on top of him made this difficult. Glancing up, he saw that Enzo was older with a sideways cap instead of his beanie and a baseball shirt decorated with his age- 01.  
Dot's voice yelled, "Enzo, who have you trampled now?"  
"It's Bob. Dot, he's here!" Enzo exclaimed as he climbed off the cadet.  
His sister scoffed. "Right Enzo. Is this like the time you saw Megabyte under your bed?" She came out from a door and saw Bob groan as he picked himself up off the floor.  
Bob came face to face with Ms. Matrix who held out a hand to help him stand the rest of the way. She was different also. Her hair was no longer streaked rainbow colors. It was black, still in her face, but now he had a better view of her violet eyes. The pink dress was replaced by a sensible red pant outfit. Okay, so Bob wasn't there just to see Dot, but the fact that she was there didn't hurt.  
"You okay?" she asked, "You've got to look out for Enzo."  
"Thanks for the warning," he replied sarcastically, then cleared his throat to get down to business, "I was told there was a distress call. Zero sent me in his place for the moment. What's the problem?"  
"No one sent out a distress call that I know of. If there's a problem we usually prefer it if Zero isn't around," Dot confided.  
Bob grinned. "I know how you feel. For me, most of the time Zero is the problem."  
The two sprites laughed a little, until their concentration was cut off by a purple null sliding through the room and into a door.  
"Hexadecimal," Dot moaned. Bob stared at her with confusion. "The other virus. She has this power to control nulls and well...C'mon."  
They followed the purple null, all the while Enzo went into stories about how nuts Hex was. " She made her home at Lost Angels, which is an island that used to be the twin city. She's really crazy, Bob. Once she used a program to type on everyone's clothes."  
Dot added, "We were all wandering around with pieces of the great viral novel on our shirts. It took a lot of talk for her undo it."  
The journey ended in a large white room where dozens of nulls covered the floor. An old, distressed voice came from overhead, "Excuse me, my children, but HELP." Phong was suspended from a light fixture in order to be away from the energy draining creatures.  
Bob pointed his arm towards the ceiling. "Glitch Power line." A wire shot from the keytool and wrapped around the chandelier so Phong could slid down.  
"Thank you, my son," Phong said with a bow of his yellow head, "Now may I suggest that we run." He almost shouted the last word before dashing from the room. The others were close behind, slamming the door shut before they were overtaken by a sea of nulls.  
"That was close," Bob muttered with relief.  
"Finally, one of you Guardians admits he was scared," Dot said with a smirk.  
"Scared? I never said I was..." He rubbed the back of his neck and noticed a silvery object laying at their feet. He leaned down to retrieve it and no sooner had he touched it than he was being shot into the sky towards Lost Angles.  
Yelling for help, Bob began to fall right into a hole in the ground. Landing on a floating platform in a round room, he realized that the only light source was a hovering spotlight that cast everything in shadows. It reminded him of a room he had seen at the Mainframe Principal Office only very purple. A chair with a twisted back almost like some kind of demented throne sat in the center beside a glided mirror.  
Bob commented aloud, "Nice place. Cheerful."  
"I'm so glad you like it," screeched a voice. From the ceiling came a slender female virus with a white face. She wore a huge smile as she reach for Bob. "Shall we dance?"  
"Whoa!" he gasped jumping out of her reach, "Shouldn't we...um...introduce ourselves first."  
The long hand passed over her face and the expression changed to a thoughtful one. "I suppose." Her hand moved again and the mask returned to a smile. "I'm Hexadecimal, the Queen of Chaos."  
"Uh...I'm Bob," he stated, trying to keep his cool.  
"I know!" she beamed, then the her mask became an angry frown. "Skuzzy!" she screamed.  
Her smile returned when a round creature zipped in. He drifted in front of Bob and wagged his tail as an image of the recent past was revealed in the stone on his head and body.  
First was Bob introducing himself to Dot. "I'm a cad...I mean, I'm a Guardian. I come from the Net."  
The image changed to a time shortly after he had left. Enzo was still a toddler who had jumped off a park bench and into his sister's arms. "Dot? When do you think Bob's coming back?"  
She sighed. "We've been over this. He's not. He's probably off doing...whatever it is that Guardians do and forgotten all about us. Besides, we don't need two of them. Zero is bad enough."  
Enzo began to whine. "But he's not like Zero, Sis, and he says he wishes he could be here, but he has finals and..."  
"Enzo, when did he say that?" she cut in with a laugh, thinking her brother was making up stories.  
"In his last message," he told her simply.  
Dot's mouth fell open. After shaking away her shock, Zero called, "Ms. Matrix, what are you doing playing in the park? Where are those chips?"  
Dot growled, "Get them yourself, you low density son of a null."  
The image faded. Hex's infectious smile repeated, "Shall we dance? We know each other so intimately now."  
"Well, I really should be going," Bob replied.  
Hex's face turned to a menacing, sharp toothed shout. "DANCE!"  
In a panic, Bob shouted, "Glitch anything!" The keytool became a chopper which flew him out of Lost Angles, way from Hexadecimal's angry screams.  
__________________  
THERE'S MORE TO COME FOLKS SO STAY RIGHT THEREHEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? HMM...MAYBE I SHOULD JUST ADD SOME SMUT AND EXPLOSIONS TO THIS. IT SEEMS TO HELP VIN DIESEL ATTRACT AN AUDIENCE. JAMES BOND HAS BEEN USING THAT BOX OFFICE PLOY FOR YEARS AND HE'S UP TO HIS BILLIONTH MOVIE. OH, WAIT. IF I DID THAT I'D HAVE TO CHANGE THE RATING AND I'M TOO LAZY TO DO THAT. FORGET IT. 


	3. Second Visit Contiued (In Which A Bunch ...

Welcome to Mainframe by SpelCastrMax  
  
Author's Note: Four test scores and eight months ago, I was bored and thus I wrote this piece of grammatically incorrect writing. I would just like to thank Alison for her help with this story when it was in its first draft. I would like to say I'm sorry to all of those people I frightened on November 2, 2001 when I repeatedly wrote the word "reboot" in my journal. I would also like to apologize to my readers who probably know the names of the sword-like weapons that first appeared in THE CRIMSON BINOME. I haven't seen that episode in almost a year so I will just call that weapon a sword. If I'm wrong, feel free to jog my memory.  
  
LAST WEEK ON REBOOT: Bob has been sent back to Mainframe where he encounters Hexadecimal and...well, that basically sums it up. Hmm, I don't have anything else to say. Dang.  
  
  
Chapter 3: Second Visit (In Which A Bunch of Stuff Happens)  
Bob flew over Mainframe and landed on the main business street. He turned to see a diner in the process of being built. At least, it would have been if several viral binomes weren't destroying everything. A large red robot emerged from the rubble followed by a blue twin.  
"Halt," called out the blue guy, "In the name of Megabyte."  
"Yeah," called out the red guy, "And because we said so."  
Bob tried not to laugh. "And you are?"  
"I am Hack," said the red one.  
"And I am Slash," the blue one replied.  
"And he is Slash," Hack added.  
"Didn't I just say that?" Slash questioned with annoyance.  
At the almost same time they told Bob, "We're subservient."  
"Do you think we're doing a good enough diversion while Megabyte is at the Principal Office?" Slash asked his partner.  
Hack smacked him and yelled, "You weren't supposed to tell him that!"  
Slash slapped him back. "It was an accident. Hey, where did he go?"  
Bob had already jumped on a zipboard (Author's question: where do they carry those things? It's the classic cartoon mysterious back pocket!) and was flying towards the Principal Office. A crowd of binomes were cornered outside by a small army of virals. Megabyte stood before them holding Dot Matrix by the arm.  
"You see, Ms. Matrix. All you have to do is give me the access code and all these people can go free," the virus told her in a smooth tone.  
"Let go of my sister, Megabreath!" Enzo shouted from the crowd. His puppy, Frisket, hopped back and forth yipping at blue tin creature.  
Bob came as near as he could without being seen by hiding behind a stack of crates. "This is bad," he muttered taking another look only to see Dot struggling in MB's grip. "Very bad," he added. The cadet leaned against a box and almost lost his balance. Reading the label, a wicked smile formed on his face.  
"For the last time," Megabyte growled, "What is the access code to the Mainframe achieves!" Suddenly, he noticed something soaring towards them with a sword in his hand.  
It was Bob, dashing overhead as he slapped each viral binome with the baton and smiled as they froze in a block of energy.  
He hovered for a moment with a large grin on his face. "Nobody told me there'd be a street party today." Bob glanced at the huddled binomes who remained motionless. With sigh, he added, "Enzo, get them out of here."  
"Sure thing, Bob," the little boy yelled and led the charge out of the shadow of the Principal Office.  
With a roar, Megabyte unsheathed his yellow claws and shouted, "I suggest you stay where you are unless you want Ms. Matrix to meet an all too soon deletion."  
The binomes gasped as he held Dot out in front of him, her legs kicking to show her stuggle. Just then, Bob shot by, grabbing Dot and smacking the virus upside the head with the sword. The weapon snapped in half. Bob frowned and released a whimper. He flew the zipboard out of harm's way before the row of claws swiped past him. The two passengers rounded a corner and hid in a doorway underneath the Principal Office.  
Dot checked herself over for bruises and dusted off her clothes as if she felt dirty after being touched by Megabyte. "Are you okay, Ms. Matrix?" Bob asked with concern.  
"I'm fine," she replied offering him a smile, "And please, call me Dot. That was a great plan, Bob. What's next?"  
"Plan?" Bob inquired.  
Her eyebrows rose. "You didn't plan that?"  
"I'm not really the planning kind of sprite," he admitted arrogantly.  
"Oh great," Dot muttered, shaking her head. She watched from their hiding spot as Megabyte reached for Enzo. "I've got an idea," she said.  
Bob let out a "whoa" as Dot dragged him over to another area of the Principal Office. A square door with a lark lock coldly stared at them. "The achieves?" he questioned.  
"Yeah." She walked up and said in a clear voice, "Enter."  
A vid window came up. "State name," a woman's voice requested.  
Instead of her name, Dot said, "Defense Security Backup."  
The window changed into a red button. Satisfied, Dot told the cadet, "C'mon. Just follow my lead."  
She ran in front of Megabyte who was chasing after each panicking binome. He saw her and grabbed a screaming one, announcing, "Now, you have two choices, Ms. Matri..."  
"Alright Megabyte, I give up," she said with defeat, "I'll take you to the achieves."  
"Dot! What are you doing?!" Bob nearly snatched her arm to stop her from leading the virus.  
"We don't have a choice," she replied, "We can't fight him."  
The virus smiled gleefully. "Smart girl."  
The sprite took Megabyte to the achieves door and explained with depression, "Press the red button. It'll ask for a password. Tell it..."  
"No Dot!" Bob tried to put a hand over her mouth, but MB pushed him aside like an old toy.  
Dot went on, the same sadness in her downcast eyes as in her tone. "The password is I. E."  
The virus's hands twitched with anticipation. "Very good." Dot stepped back as the blue finger went to the red button. He pressed it and waited. A clicking noise started from beneath the virus. He looked down at his feet in confusion. A second later, a platform sprung up underneath him and the beast was flung into the air. All of Mainframe could hear him yell out in surprise, "Eye-eeeeee!"  
"Well, he got the password right," Bob pointed out, laughing as he picked himself up, "Alright, nice job."  
"Thanks," Dot replied with pride, "C'mon. We should check on the others."  
Bob glanced at his feet nervously. He knew that he should go back to the Super Computer, only he didn't want to. In the end, he released a sigh of defeat, "No, I...I should go home. The crisis is over and..."  
"Okay, we'll call you next time you're needed," Dot told him casually.  
"No!" Bob almost shouted, then regained his cool, "Uh...no, you better not. I was just doing this as a favor for Zero. He needed the study time."  
"Oh." She tried not to reveal her disappointment at the thought of Zero coming back. Then, Dot went back to her usual nonchalant attitude, "Enzo will be sorry to hear that."  
"I'll keep writing to him," Bob responded truthfully, "And...and you could, I mean if you wanted, you and I could write too."  
Before Dot could answer, Carden flew in as if out of nowhere on his zipboard. "Bob, c'mon. What are you doing here? I can't believe you listened to Zero. We have to get back before Turbo knows you're gone."  
"Turbo already knows," a deep Southern voice retorted. Turbo stood over them with a scowl.  
"Oh boy," Bob muttered under his breath.  
"What's going on here?" Dot demanded to know.  
Turbo addressed her. "Sorry for the inconvenience, miss. I assure you these cadets won't be bothering you again?"  
She argued, "But they weren't...Cadets?"  
Now Bob wasn't sure who would be worse to face, the strict Prime Guardian or the fearless and stubborn Dot Matrix. He shook Dot's hand and hurriedly told her, "Nice to see you again, Ms. Matrix. Tell your brother bye for me." Then he threw down his zipboard and dashed away, followed by Carden, who had a portal awaiting them.  
Turbo also shook Dot's hand and added, "I'll make sure our normal cadet will return. He should be earning his Guardian protocol soon and we'll work on assigning him permanently, so problems like this will not happen again."  
"Wait, but we don't want..." Dot started to protest, however Turbo has already stepped back through his own portal and disappeared.  
_________________  
HEY, THAT CHAPTER TURNED OUT FAIRLY SHORT IN COMPARISON TO THE REST OF THIS FIC. GOOD FOR ME. OKAY, FOLKS, JUST HANG IN THERE. THE STORY IS ALMOST FINISHED.  
  
  
IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY THIS FIC WILL INFLATE TO MAKE A DANDY FLOTATION DEVICE...OKAY, THAT'S A LIE. 


	4. Back at the Super Computer (In Which a M...

Welcome to Mainframe by SpelCastrMax  
  
Author's Note: Who actually reads the author's note? And what's with ravens anyway? Why are these "nevermore" birds constantly being compared with writing desks?  
  
AND JUST FOR LEGAL REASONS: The last couple of lines of dialogue aren't mine. I stole...I mean barrowed them from REBOOT THE GAME.  
  
  
THIS SPACE FOR RENT  
  
  
  
LAST WEEK ON REBOOT: Bob and Dot work together to defeat Megabyte for the first time just before the cadet is caught by Turbo. I have nothing funny or witty to say here.  
  
  
Chapter 4: Back at the Super Computer (In Which a Moral is Probably Snuck into the Story Somehow)  
Back at the academy, both Zero and Bob were put on suspension. Carden surprisingly wasn't punished for his little excursion to help his roommate.  
The cadet wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He'd wander around the school with new determination and would actually study. Molly wanted to take him into a diagnostic program to have his head examined. Bob still had the letters from Enzo, but it wasn't long before they came less regularly.  
He was in the library staring numbly at a readme file when a purple sprite with bright red hair crept in. She wore a sword at her side which she pointed in his back. The sprite commented, "Sugah, you sure aren't very alert. You look twice as blue as usual."  
"Go away, Mouse," he said glumly without looking up.  
Mouse sighed and muttered, "I know I'm gonna regret askin', but what's wrong?" She sat down next to him at the long table. "You look like you just had your heart broken. You're not even tryin' to stop me. Usually, you're the first one hunting me down."  
"I said leave me alone, Mouse," he grumbled focusing more intently on the file in his hands.  
Mouse stole it and choked, "You're studyin'?! You can't be the real Bob."  
He snatched the file back. "I have to get a high score on my final."  
She blinked at him a couple of times. "You're really serious 'bout this." Mouse thought for a moment and added, "You know, Bob, I could always steal the answers...for a price."  
"No thanks, Mouse. I'm in enough trouble as it is." He finally allowed himself to smile.  
Knowing that was the end of it, Mouse got up and left. Winking at him, she said, "See ya later, Sugah, and good luck." Bob reached up and patted her shoulder as if to say thanks. When she was gone, he revealed the disk of Super Computer data he had taken from under her sleeve. Sometimes you didn't need to hunt down the Mouse.  
The time of finals arrived. Bob and Carden took their tests without a word between them. Every cadet was nervous. It felt like seconds passed as they all filled in little bubbles on a sickly colored sheet, then moved onto the physical portion of the test to check on game techniques.  
When it was over, they all filed into the halls of the academy to await the posting of the grades. They chewed on their nails and paced a little. The vid window announcing the newest guardians at last appeared on a wall and Bob was the first one to read it. He let out a loud shout of triumph as he read that he was the ninth highest score; he was now Guardian 452.  
************  
Bob wasn't sent to Mainframe as he had hoped, yet neither was anyone else, which cheered him up almost completely. His first jobs around the Super Computer were easy things like winning games, stopping Mouse from hacking into the core, and giving inspirational speeches to young sprites.  
"And this, kids, is a chaotic virus. They are highly unstable and random. Steer clear of them at all costs," he told the wide eyed school group, then nodded for someone to change the slide appearing on the screen behind him. "Next is the mysterious cron virus. A cron's function is only to destroy. However, the chance that one would ever overtake the Super Computer is highly unlikely."  
Molly interrupted the presentation and whispered, "I'll take care of this. Turbo wants to talk to you."  
Bob thanked her and went to the Prime Guardian's office. Turbo stood behind his desk, motioning to a chair. Bob took a seat and awaited a lecture or boring pep talk. He waited, but Turbo's voice remained neutral.  
"This petition was brought to my attention," the Prime Guardian said holding out a file, "It states that without the help of a certain cadet a system would be under the control of a certain virus. This petition is asking for this cadet to return and be their permanent guardian." Turbo paused to see if Bob understood, but the young Guardian's face was blank. "You have some good friends, Bob. And so, I appoint you, Guardian 452, your first post."  
Bob's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "You mean I'm going back to Mainframe?"  
Turbo nearly laughed as he nodded. "Ms. Matrix seemed to have gone to a lot of trouble to make sure you came back. If you want the post, it's yours. But you have to leave right away."  
Bob jumped out of his chair and dashed from the room. He returned only to shake Turbo's hand and blurt our an excited, "Thank you, sir."  
Carden and Molly helped him pack and when they were done no one would have ever known Carden had even had a roommate. Bob's friends said goodbye and gave him something (which one of them had run out to buy when they heard their blue buddy was leaving). Wrapped in silver paper was a picture of the Super Computer along with the words "Home Sweet Home". Turbo wished him luck and a couple of the instructors seemed pleased to have 452 out of their hair. They watched Bob except the gift from his friends with a smile, then step through the large bubble without looking back. The portal ended in the Mainframe Principal Office.  
Bob felt himself grin, then the smile faded as an excited, "BOB!" echoed throughout the room. He felt himself being pushed to the floor and stared up at Enzo.  
"I knew you'd be back! Dot's petition worked. This is so cool. Now we can go jet balling and I can show you all of Mainframe! Alphanumeric!"  
"Enzo," Bob said good naturedly.  
"Yeah Bob?"  
"Could you get off me? I need to report to the Command.Com."  
"Oh...sorry, Bob," the kid said jumping up.  
The blue sprite rose from the floor and walked forward a little. Phong zipped into the room. "Guardian Bob. Good. Good. I shall tell the Command.Com you have arrived. Young Matrix can take you to your lodgings."  
They zipped outside. Every sprite they passed would stop to shake Bob's hand. Enzo took him into a sector called Kits where an apartment building stood. A giant 8 ball rotated on top to create some kind of memorable landmark for lost tourists.  
From one of the nearby buildings, Dot Matrix stepped out, too busy checking the data from a handheld screen to notice she was walking directly into Bob. "Oh, sorry," she sincerely told him as she put away the organizer.  
"Oh, no problem," Bob said, a little shy. He coughed nervously and stuttered, "I...uh...thanks for...um, writing to Turbo...and..."  
"Don't mention it," Dot replied lightly. As an afterthought, she said, "But if you ever lie to me again like you did with that cadet/guardian thing I'm kicking your bitmap."  
Bob fell into an ease when he saw how she was casually teasing him. "Why did you petition for me to come, especially after I lied to you?"  
Dot began walking into the apartment building, talking over her shoulder. "Well, I figured anyone would be better than Zero."  
"Oh." Bob was a little disappointed, unsure of why since he wasn't sure what he had been expecting her to say.  
Enzo, Dot, and Bob reached his floor and as soon as they stepped into the door a yellow television set jumped out in front of them. "We're here to welcome our new defender of the system, Guardian Bob! Would you like to say a few words for the loyal citizens of Mainframe?"  
"Not now, Mike," Dot told him warningly. The TV stopped talking as the sprite turned apologetically to Bob. "Phong thought you would want a roommate. He probably won't be here all of the time. He likes to travel about the city and...entertain us all." She paused to rethink her words. "Okay, so annoy us is more like it."  
"Now that you're here, what do you want to do?!" Enzo asked with hopes of playing games or listening to exciting stories.  
"I think I'll just get settled in," Bob told him, setting down his travel case on the couch.  
Dot grabbed Enzo's arm, saying something about work to do. Meanwhile, the little boy waved eagerly. "Bye Bob!" He turned to his sister and loudly stated, "See, I told you he'd come back!"  
The Guardian unpacked. While doing so, Mike the TV babbled endlessly about different useless products and bad sitcoms. Finally, Bob discovered Mike's remote control hiding in a drawer and shut the obnoxious appliance off. He was almost looking forward to just relaxing and exploring his new post.  
As Bob floated by shops and homes, he found himself comparing it all to the Super Computer. "Great! I work so hard to be posted someplace and all I can think about is home. Sheesh."  
He rode his zipboard to the sector named Bawdway where the diner he had seen Megabyte's minions destroying the last time he'd been there. Now it was finished. Dot's Diner, or at least that was what the letters attached to the roof said. A banner hung over the doors reading "Grand Opening".  
Enzo was playing outside with his puppy, tossing a string less yoyo for the dog to try and catch it. Bob was about to greet he little sprite when an blast from Hexadecimal's island and her angered scream spread over the city. "Megabyte!!!"  
"Oh man, those two are always fighting," Enzo commented, then noticed Bob checking his keytool, "What are you doing, Bob?"  
"Scanning for disturbances." He shook his head slightly to keep from laughing. His first day on the job and already the city was covered with tears, the viruses were battling, and he reacted immediately to fix it all. Living in Mainframe was going to be interesting.  
  
_________________  
NOW, HERE'S ROCKY THE FLYING SQUIRREL WITH AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE.  
ROCKY: WHY AM I IN THIS FANFICTION ALL OF THE SUDDEN? WHAT THE HECK IS A REBOOT? WHERE'S BULLWINKLE? I'M SO CONFUSED! WELL, AT LEAST I GOT MORE LINES THAN THAT MIKE THE TV GUY. 


	5. The Conclusion (In Which Stuff You Alrea...

Welcome to Mainframe by SpelCastrMax  
  
Author's Note: Finally, it ends. This takes place during RACING THE CLOCK. And because this chapter is so short I have decided to use that spare time to play with the "Last week on Reboot" thing. I've changed it to something more like a trailer or preview, as my dad calls them. (Insert evil laugh here)  
  
REBOOT TRAILER: (In Script Form! Oooooh!!!)  
Narrator: An idealistic cadet discovers a small system suffering from tragedy.  
Bob: I'm a cad...I mean, I'm a Guardian. I come from the Net. (show Dot crying on him-awwwe).  
Dot: Dot Matrix. And this is my little brother...Enzo!  
(Show Enzo being held by MB)  
Megabyte: I am Megabyte, Corrupt and Conquer.  
Hexadecimal: I'm Hexadecimal, the Queen of Chaos.  
Bob: I need to stay.  
Tubo: Zero, you stay in Mainframe until further orders.  
Bob & Zero: But sir...  
Narrator: However, it seems he may never be able to help the way he wants to.  
Zero: You're just upset that you can't go to Mainframe and check up on all your new buddies.  
Bob: Who says I can't go there?  
Zero Voice Over: No cadet can leave the Academy grounds this close to finals (show Zero pushing Bob through the portal...cause he's a meanie-head)  
(Show Bob meeting Hex, followed by Dot being choked by MB and Enzo standing close-by)  
Enzo: Let go of my sister, Megabreath!  
(MB flying through the air)  
Carden: We have to get back before Turbo knows you're gone.  
(show Turbo looking peeved)  
Bob: Oh boy.  
Bob: I have to get a high score on my final.  
Mouse: You know, Bob, I could always steal the answers...for a price.  
Turbo: This petition is asking for this cadet to return and be their permanent guardian  
Enzo: Bob! I knew you'd be back! (Enzo bowling over Bob)  
Narrator: Welcome to Mainframe, the world inside of your computer. (show various Mainframe landmarks such as the diner and Kits)  
Bob: Well, let's reboot.  
Dot: What's reboot?  
Bob: This is bad, very bad.  
(Okay, that catchphrase wasn't actually in that part of the story, but it made for a funny ending line.)  
  
Alright the torture is over. Here's the ending of the fic.  
  
Chapter 5: The Conclusion (In Which Stuff You Already Know Happens)  
Only a short amount of time in Mainframe passed before Bob discovered a good outlook for things. Frisket at last grew into a large junkyard dog who enjoyed threatening the Guardian and protecting the diner. Enzo bowled over Bob every chance he had just to make sure he had his new mentor's attention. Dot was busy all of the time, yet she still found time to help in games. Megabyte's plans were becoming more clever while Hack and Slash became dumber. Hex kept to herself most of the time, yet that did not stop her from going postal on the city every now and again. Through it all, Bob remained the "new sprite in town". He constantly talked about the Super Computer and Guardian Protocol, the stuff that had been pounded into his brain since was little. Enzo would listen eagerly and Dot would occasionally roll her eyes.  
It wasn't until he went back to the Super Computer that Bob made a new realization. He had only gone into the armory room with plans to be back in Mainframe before Megabyte sliced Dot into three pieces. As he retrieved two golden, floating orbs known as hidden file commands, Bob thought about being home for just that moment. He didn't feel anything. He thought he should have been excited or heart ached or at least eager to see a familiar face. Nope. None of the previous symptoms applied to Guardian 452.  
Bob went back to Mainframe and those three emotions swept over him. He was happy to be back, and for more of a reason other than saving Dot from the long clawed virus who had her cornered. After putting the hidden file command to work, Megabyte was gone so Bob and Dot waited before returning to the diner, knowing that would be the fist place MB would look.  
"Hey, Dot. How long have I lived in Mainframe?" the Guardian questioned when he realized he had lost track of the seconds.  
"About a minute, I think," she replied (and for the sake of this author's sanity, we will just say a minute equals a month and leave it at that), "Why?" He shrugged, then motioned for them to head back to their hangout.  
The diner was a mess. Enzo hadn't even bothered to try and clean the wreck Megabyte had left. He was too busy sitting in a booth with his sister and new friend asking about the Super Computer.  
After Bob described his birthplace to the young sprite, he added, "It was nice to visit, but it sure is good to be home."  
  
_________________  
IT'S OVER! GO REST YOUR EYES! AND THANX FOR READING!!! 


End file.
